There was nothing special in U.S. President George W Bush's

There was nothing special in U.S. President George W Bush's
flying visit to Bali. The "celebration" readily went with the
wind. Government officials were the only ones who clapped their
hands out of relief that no incident occurred during Bush's
visit.

There was also no special statement from both Bush and
Megawati Soekarnoputri, as well as the religious leaders. There
was nothing of special value that could be gained from Bush's
visit to Indonesia. It was only a fruitless talk.

One of the things raised by KH Hasyim Muzadi, one of the
religious leaders invited to have talks with Bush, was the
pressure for pesantrens, or Islamic boarding schools, to change
their curricula. He said this is a form of intervention which has
never happened before.

Hasyim's feeling represents Bush's flattery that the war
against terrorism is not a war against Islam.

Indonesia gained nothing from Bush's visit while the country
lost 15 flights to and from the Ngurah Rai International Airport
after the U.S. barred flights from 9:47 a.m. to 4:10 p.m. local
time.

U.S. oil companies control many Indonesian oil wells and
mining sites. -- Republika, Jakarta

Bush's Bali visit and
perspective on RI-U.S. ties

The less-than-four-hour visit of U.S. President George W. Bush
to Indonesia's Bali province could reflect Bush's attention to
terrorist acts and his policy to spearhead campaigns against
terrorism. Bush's position has triggered controversy among
certain groups of people in the world.

Noted Indonesian Moslem preacher, Abdullah Gymnastiar, better
known as Aa Gym, for example, has decided not to accept the U.S.
government's invitation for a dialog with Bush.

Aa Gym, who said he would perform a minor haj pilgrimage when
Bush visits Bali, rejects Bush's policy on terrorist acts.

Bush is believed to be practicing double standard on terrorist
acts in the Middle East conflict, especially in the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict.

It is also regrettable that the US still sees Indonesia in a
negative perspective, while Washington's policy on Iraq is not as
good as Jakarta's policy on East Timor.

We thus hope that the meeting between Bush and Indonesian
President Megawati Soekarnoputri as well as the Islamic leaders
in Bali on Oct. 22 would bring constructive results.

History has told us that closer ties and good cooperation
between two countries could no longer be denied.

Rich countries such as the United States should be responsible
for the problems of developing countries, among them poverty and
injustice -- two factors which tend to cause terrorism.

-- Kompas, Jakarta